The present disclosure relates generally to selectively forwarding electronic-mail (e-mail) and in particular, to a method of automatically forwarding an e-mail message from one internet service provider (ISP) system to a mailbox on another ISP system based on instructions from the intended recipient of the message.
E-mail refers to the transmission of messages over communication networks such as the Internet. The messages may be notes entered from the keyboard or electronic files stored on disk. Most mainframes, minicomputers and computer networks have an e-mail system. Some e-mail systems are confined to a single computer system or network, but others have gateways to other computer systems, enabling users to send e-mail anywhere in the world. Companies that are fully computerized make extensive use of e-mail because it is fast, flexible and reliable. Sent messages are stored in electronic mailboxes until the intended recipient fetches them. A user may have to check an electronic mailbox periodically to see if any e-mail has arrived or alternatively, the e-mail system may alert the user when new e-mail is received. Many on-line services and Internet service providers (ISPs) offer e-mail and most also support gateways so that a user may exchange mail with users on other ISP systems. Typically, it takes only a few seconds or minutes for mail to arrive at its destination. E-mail is a particularly effective way to communicate with a group because the user can broadcast a message or document to everyone in the group at once.
The competition for e-mail customers is increasing as more and more companies are getting into the on-line services and ISP businesses (e.g., telephone companies, cable companies). New pricing plans and usage plans are being announced and made available to customers on a regular basis. Customers want to be able to select an ISP based on the best prices and plans. Currently, however, it may be cumbersome to change ISPs because it is the responsibility of the e-mail address owner, or recipient, to manually give a new e-mail address to the various parties who have the recipient's existing e-mail address. Another way this is currently handled is for the customer to keep the old account open for a period of time with an automatic reply message that will render the new information to anyone who e-mails the user. This approach may be expensive for the customer.